This summer I did something extraordinary. I unplugged. Really unplugged. Over the course of nearly two months, my 11-year-old son Evan and I traveled over 11,000 miles from Charlotte, NC, to the Oregon coast and back hauling a vintage 1971 Airstream camper.   No, I’m not unemployed or transitioning between jobs. I lead a major business unit…

The COVID-19 pandemic upended people all around the globe, causing many to re-evaluate aspects of their life, including their relationship with banks. During such a difficult period, many customers are asking their banks to show a deeper understanding of their particular financial and emotional situation, which is the core of what we call empathetic banking. It’s a personal approach to banking that combines digital with a human touch.   To offer an empathetic experience…

Key themes Purchase volume has continued to exhibit a strong rebound (up 20%+ QoQ for all issuers) and has largely returned to pre-pandemic levels; American Express, in particular, points to a healthy return of T&E spend as a growth driver. YoY purchase volume growth was substantial given that Q2 2020 was the height of the…

Middle market bank leaders sometimes assume that the most transformative technologies are out of their reach. But the path to future competitiveness in banking runs through technology. No matter the size of the bank. Middle market banks are in an enviable position when it comes to getting the full value of emerging technologies. They have…

When I started as a commercial banking relationship manager (RM) in the early ‘90s, a big part of my job was prospecting for new customers. This was an era when public information on privately held, mid-sized companies was extremely limited.   The filings book I used to search for information—a thick paperback known as the Uniform…

Compared with challenger banks, some traditional banks have been slow to adopt Open Banking. This is perplexing, given the potential $416-billion market opportunity Open Banking represents and the growth we expect to see over the next three years. Some banks have had understandable reasons to be hesitant about adopting Open Banking—but they won’t for much longer.  Banking leaders…